Bradshaw Ranch — Complete Timeline
From KB42
Bradshaw Ranch — Complete Timeline
[edit | edit source]| Date | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-European period | Sinagua, Hohokam, and Anasazi peoples inhabit the Sedona/Verde Valley area; Palatki Heritage Site constructed 1.5 miles from the ranch location; petroglyphs created on canyon walls; indigenous traditions of ancestors from the stars | Archaeological record; oral tradition |
| 19th century | American Army forces the removal of all indigenous peoples from the Verde Valley; the land transitions to ranching use | Historical record |
| 1945 | Bob Bradshaw arrives in Oak Creek Canyon area to address seasonal allergies; finds work in the film industry as stuntman, livestock wrangler, location scout, set builder, and photographer | Bradshaw family accounts; local historical records |
| Late 1940s–1950s | Bob Bradshaw builds his photography business and film industry career in Sedona; publishes postcards and photography books; involved in multiple Western film productions | Local history; Sedona Historical Society records |
| c. 1960 | Bob Bradshaw acquires the 90-acre property near the junction of Hartwell Canyon and Loy Canyon for approximately $200 per acre; ranch begins serving as a dedicated Hollywood filming location | Property records; family accounts |
| 1960s–1970s | Ranch serves as filming location for five Western movies including Joe Kidd (1972, Clint Eastwood), two television series, and numerous commercials; celebrity visitors include John Wayne, Barbara Stanwyck, Elvis Presley | Film production records; family accounts |
| Late 1970s–1980s | Western film production declines; ranch transitions to tourist-oriented use; John Bradshaw promotes horseback riding, Jeep tours, and dinner dances | Family accounts; local business history |
| c. 1989–1990 | First anomalous phenomena begin to be observed at the ranch — unusual lights, anomalous aerial objects; Linda Bradshaw's initial observations | Linda Bradshaw's personal account; Tom Dongo's documentation |
| 1992 | Phenomena escalate significantly; orbs documented photographically; "otherworldly beings" observed; the period described in "Merging Dimensions" as the beginning of the full paranormal event sequence | Linda Bradshaw's account; "Merging Dimensions" (1995) |
| Early 1990s | Tom Dongo — Sedona's resident UFO and paranormal investigator — recognizes the significance of the ranch's phenomena; begins collaborating with Linda Bradshaw to document events | Tom Dongo's account; "Merging Dimensions" (1995) |
| 1995 | Linda Bradshaw and Tom Dongo publish "Merging Dimensions: The Incredible Saga of Bradshaw Ranch"; the book brings national paranormal research attention to the property | Published; book exists |
| Mid-1990s | U.S. Forest Service begins reducing Bob Bradshaw's grazing allotments on National Forest land; tax burden on the ranch operation increases; economic pressure on the Bradshaw family builds | Public land management records; family accounts |
| c. 1995–2000 | Ranch becomes a fixture in Sedona paranormal tourism; investigators, researchers, and curiosity-seekers visit regularly; numerous additional phenomena documented by visitors | Multiple investigator accounts |
| 1998 | Bob Bradshaw sells the ranch land to his own Jeep tour company, A Day in the West, for approximately $2.75 million | Yavapai County property records |
| c. 2000–2001 | Gamma Investors LLC acquires the property from the Bradshaw Jeep company; the mechanism and price of this transfer are not fully documented in public sources | Property records (partial) |
| May 2001 | Gamma Investors LLC sells the property to the Trust for Public Land, a California conservation nonprofit, for $10 — the standard architecture of a planned federal land acquisition | Yavapai County property records; documented |
| June 2001 | Trust for Public Land sells the property to the U.S. Forest Service for $3.15 million; the Forest Service becomes the owner of Bradshaw Ranch | Yavapai County property records; documented |
| 2001–2003 | The Forest Service acquires the property but public access is not immediately fully restricted; transition period | Local accounts |
| May 10, 2003 | Public access to the ranch is fully restricted; the Forest Service closes the property with no-trespassing signage; the ranch enters its "no-go zone" era | Multiple paranormal accounts; local reporting |
| 2003–2016 | Ranch sits largely vacant under Forest Service ownership; occasional trespass incidents by paranormal investigators and curious visitors; no formal public research program | Local accounts; Sedona Red Rock News |
| 2010 | UFO Digest field investigator visits the perimeter of the ranch; describes the property as "the place that has seen more paranormal activity in recent years than perhaps any other US location" | UFO Digest published account |
| 2015 | Tom Dongo states in a YouTube video that he believes he has identified the portal location on the ranch, having observed it from a helicopter | Documented YouTube content; Dongo's account |
| 2016 | Northern Arizona University's Southwest Experimental Garden Array (SEGA) project begins using 22 of the 90 acres for climate change research — the first formal scientific presence on the property since Forest Service acquisition | NAU/SEGA documentation; Sedona Red Rock News |
| 2022 (December) | History Channel film crew arrives in Sedona; films for approximately two weeks at Bradshaw Ranch and other locations including Airport Mesa and The Hudson; interviews John Bradshaw, Mason Bradshaw, and Tom Dongo | Sedona Red Rock News reporting |
| 2023 (June 6) | Beyond Skinwalker Ranch premieres on History Channel; the episode featuring Bradshaw Ranch includes claims of dangerous radiation levels, near-peer competition interference, and evidence of sophisticated government or military technology | History Channel; documented broadcast |
| 2023 (August) | NAU SEGA team publicly states they have "seen no paranormal anomalies associated with Bradshaw Ranch" and are "completely unaware of rumors of any secret military base or tunnels" — the most direct scientific null result from the property | Sedona Red Rock News |
| Present | Ranch remains U.S. Forest Service property; access restricted; NAU SEGA research continues on 22 acres; no-trespassing enforcement maintained; paranormal tourism to the perimeter continues; the phenomena remain unexplained | Current status |
